Southwest Baltimore Charter School

Southwest Baltimore Charter School (SBCS) was founded in 2005 by a group of parents and teachers who wanted to broaden the academic and social horizons of their Southwest Baltimore neighborhood, home to three of the lowest performing schools in Baltimore City. The initiative began with 60 children, in kindergarten and grade one, who were taught in a few classrooms on the third floor of an underused elementary school. Today, Southwest Baltimore Charter School serves 425 students, kindergarten through grade eight in its own building, with a mission to achieve authentic academic success by harnessing the kindness, cooperation, and trust of faculty, family, and community.

The school’s families are culturally and economically diverse, and its students bring a variety of extraordinary talents and complex educational needs. The staff and faculty are driven to meet each child where he/she is and to move all children forward in the belief that every child has the ability and deserves the opportunity to learn to think critically and communicate effectively. Expeditionary Learning, the school’s design model, teaches children to become critical thinkers by diving deeply into many subjects. Academic classes are supported by field research and work with outside experts to make learning challenging, exciting, and fun. At Southwest Baltimore Charter School, the arts and outdoor education receive the same rigorous attention as literacy, math, social studies, and science. Inside and outside the classroom, our students are encouraged to make well-considered, intrinsically-motivated choices that lead to positive and productive action and relationships.

School website:
https://www.sbcschool.org/